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Don’t travel over the upcoming holidays. But if you must, consider getting coronavirus tests before and after, U.S. health officials urged Wednesday. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the best way to stay safe and protect others is to stay home. (Tanner, 12/2)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday pressed Americans to not travel for Christmas amid fears that gatherings during the holiday season could ultimately spread more COVID-19 cases. “The best thing for Americans to do in the upcoming holiday season is to stay at home and not travel,” Henry Walke, the CDC's COVID-19 incident manager, told reporters Wednesday. “Cases are rising. Hospitalizations are increasing, deaths are increasing. We need to try to bend the curve, stop this exponential increase.” (Axelrod, 12/2)

President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday implored Americans not to travel and gather with family during the holiday season as coronavirus cases surge across the country. “You cannot be traveling during these holidays, as much as you want to,” Biden, speaking from Wilmington, Del., told a group of workers and small business owners during a virtual briefing. (Chalfant, 12/2)

Americans heard the pleas to stay home. They were told what would happen if they didn’t. Still, millions traveled and gathered during last week’s Thanksgiving holiday, either doubting the warnings or deciding they would take their chances. Now, like any partygoer waking from a raucous weekend — feeling a bit hung over and perhaps a tinge of regret — the nation is about to face the consequences of its behavior and will need to quickly apply the lessons before heading into the doubleheader of Christmas and New Year’s. (Wan and Shammas, 12/1)

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has invited hundreds of guests to the State Department for holiday receptions in the coming weeks despite warnings from health experts that Americans should avoid large gatherings amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic, according to two State Department officials familiar with the planning. (Atwood, 12/2)

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Wednesday shrugged off concerns about holding in-person holiday parties as the nation is riven by a surge in coronavirus cases and public health agencies urge Americans to forgo such gatherings. "If you can loot businesses, burn down buildings, engage in protest, you can also go to a Christmas party," McEnany said at a White House briefing. (Samuels, 12/2)

Coronavirus infections in Iowa may be reaching a plateau after a dramatic spike in late October and early November, but there are signs of ongoing broad spread of the virus, according to the latest White House coronavirus task force report. The report warns that trends in testing and infections should be "cautiously interpreted", especially the week immediately following Thanksgiving. People under 40 who gathered for the holiday with those outside their immediate households should assume they became infected during the holiday period, the task force said. The White House group recommended that people older than 65 not enter indoor public spaces where others are unmasked.

Vermonters who attended multi-household Thanksgiving gatherings against the governor’s order are urged to quarantine and get tested for the coronavirus. “It’s best to get tested right away and again on Day Seven or later,” Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine said Tuesday during the governor’s virus briefing. (12/2)